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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Scrappy Hound House Pale Ale #2

I can't make a good hoppy beer to save my life. I've brewed probably 10 different IPA/Pale/Hoppy whatevers and they all suck. Muted aroma/flavor, malt forward, just generally blah. I'm not even being super critical like I normally am when I compare my homebrew to commercial beers and feel underwhelmed. I'm comparing my hoppy beers to mediocre versions of commercial beers and they still suck. With that being said, I'm not giving up. I'm on a quest to make an explosive hoppy beer and I'm going to do it. I might not do it for 20 years, but I'll get there eventually. I last brewed my Scrappy Hound House Pale Ale #1 a month or two ago and the result was typical for my hoppy beers. Uninspired and blah. So I blew that recipe up, read and read and read about brewing hoppy beers and I think I've got it figured out (hahahahahha).I took out the crystal. Upped the amount of hops. Got some fresh, uber dank, reliable flavor combo hops. I went over water profiles for hoppy beers again (hellooooo sulfates!). I made sure to get my mash pH low (5.2). I changed the yeast to what apparently is the Hill Farmstead strain. Then I hyped myself up and convinced myself this is the time I brew an awesome hoppy beer (either that or I set myself up to cry in the corner when I taste this and it sucks like usual). Pale Ale #23 Gallons74% efficiency60 minute boil4.5 lb 2 Row (82%)0.5 lb Maris Otter (9%)0.5 lb White Wheat (9%)0.25 oz Chinook (FWH)0.5 oz Citra (15 min)0.25 oz Amarillo (15 min)0.5 oz Citra (Hop Stand, 180F for 20 min)0.25 oz Amarillo (Hop Stand, 180F for 20 min)1 oz Citra (Dry Hop)0.5 oz Amarillo (Dry Hop)Wyeast 1318 @ 64F ambient. Mashed at 154FOG 1.051 | FG 1.011 | ABV 5.2% | IBU 53Ca 194 | Mg 1 | Na 27 | Cl 120 | SO4 279 | HCO3 1083/3/15: Brewday. Mash pH 5.3. 1.5 L starter of WY1318. 50 seconds of O2. OG 1.051.3/7/15: Gravity down to 1.0173/16/15: Gravity at 1.011. Dry hopped.